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Tenchū
|leader(s)= Musubi-no-kami |purpose= }} Tenchū (天柱, Tenchuu) are a recently constructed pantheon residing within the heavens. Founded and led by the mother goddess Musubi-no-kami, it consists of herself and her "children", serving as the de-facto pantheon of the Seikyō Empire and central tenet of the Musubi faith. Among their fellow pantheons and gods they're regarded as upstarts at best, and disrupters or threats at worst. However, they remain immensely popular with their constituents, regularly making their presence known by walking among their people and working small miracles; a reminder to their worshippers they're always watching. Overview It starts with one. Kitō, a liberator turned empress turned goddess. She would be deified by her people after building their prosperous nation, having stepped down to hand the reins to her eldest. Her continued good works under the guise of various individuals would only confirm the rightness of her deification, as shrines and temples rose in her honor. Children would play with her unknowingly, the gravely ill would find healing her presence, and the old would feel the stirrings of youth once more. Each act of kindness and small miracle won her followers; potent retribution earned her fear and respect. A force that always expanding, always in flux, breaking and reuniting; she became Musubi-no-kami (神結び, Musubi-no-kami), the six-fold patroness of the Empire. The Musubi religion would be named after her, originally starting as a monotheistic faith that christened her with the title Tentei (天帝, lit. "Heavenly King") among other accolades. She was not the only god to call that region home however; the cults of other local deities which preceded her persisted in dogged fashion. Repeatedly, conflicts arose as the followers of the old and the new collided, only to be halted by the intervention of the goddess herself. The human imaginary would take root as she descended from the heavens, her presence striking fear into the hearts of some while filling other with relief and joy. A figure of resplendent power and beauty, her appearance inspired revisionism on the parts of multiple cults. Formerly isolated gods would be revised in relation to her. Some would be aspects of her divinity, others local names for the same goddess. Still others would become sons, daughters, and grandchildren, descendants of a nigh-omnipotent line which only strengthened with time. A few would place their deities as creations and/or reincarnations of her, pieces meant to guide the world below when the Tentei was otherwise occupied. The goddess would add to this as she revealed creations of her own to the world, generating a vibrant, transformative, and potent faith, monotheistic becoming polytheistic. Thus, the Tenchū was born. Race Alongside their status as a pantheon, the term Tenchū has become a racial classification, denoting the supernatural divine family produced by the Tentei and her godly abilities. It encompasses both her immediate creations and the children they have, representing a gradual expansion over time as positions held by non-Tenchū are usurped by its members and their offspring. Notably, their true forms run the gamut from the horrifying to awe-inspiring, depending on their given function within the larger pantheon. Children born to a non-Tenchū, specifically a non-god, are referred to as Hantenchū (半天柱, lit. "Half-Pillars Supporting Heaven"). Unlike the majority of pantheons and gods (due in large part to the Pandora's Box nature of the progenitor's power), they are not limited to one energy source, having members who display proficiency in magic, curses, and even ki (in the absence of other energy types). This versatility is one of the many reasons why they remain drastically unpopular with other gods. Members See Also *Musubi